Free Heart of Thunder by Johanna Lindsey Page B

February, hardly a good time to be sleeping in a tent in the open air. But Adrien was determined.
    Jeannette was also determined—to visit him each day. Samantha went along every time. It was her only chance to see Adrien.
    Except for those rides out to Adrien’s claim, Samantha was bored. There was nothing to do in Elizabethtown. She found herself spending a good deal of time in the general store, buying things she didn’t even need. But it was an interesting place, typical of stores in the Southwest, and smelled of plug tobacco, leather, freshground coffee, and even pickled fish. There were few luxuries. Basic items and food needed for a rugged life crowded every available space. Even the rafters were hung with hams, slabs of bacon, and cooking pots. The floors were covered with barrels and kegs brimming with sugar, flour, even vinegar. This was where Samantha went, nearly every day, to pass the time.
    She had not seen Hank Chavez and wondered if he had left Elizabethtown. There was a month still left before she could expect her escort to arrive. What could she do with all that time?
    She began to think wistfully of home. She had not seen her father for nearly three years. The time hadlengthened because she had stayed an extra six months to visit Jeannette, mostly just to be near Adrien. But he had paid no more attention to her then than he did now. Why didn’t Adrien find her attractive? Other men did.
    Samantha began to think he might be like Jeannette, his taste peculiar, as hers was. Imagine Jeannette not thinking Hank Chavez handsome! Was Adrien repelled by dark skin? Perhaps she was too dark, too robust, too healthy. She had had a dark, healthy tan when she had gone East and had kept it for almost six months. Though she was pale enough now, perhaps he couldn’t forget how dark she had once been. Was this healthy appearance repugnant to him? Or maybe he just didn’t like dark-haired women. His mother and sister were so blonde, so petite. Was she perhaps too tall?
    Damn! What did he find wrong with her? If he didn’t so dislike boldness in women, she would simply have asked him. Time was running out. Now she would only be able to see him a few hours each day. She needed help. She ought to have confided in Jeannette long before. Jeannette did not know that Samantha loved Adrien. Perhaps it was time they talked.
    They did, that night over dinner in a small restaurant featuring home-cooked meals. It had been almost empty when they arrived, but had filled up quickly, mostly with rough men who came in from the gambling hall next door. They suffered noise and unwelcome attention while they ate.
    “Does Adrien have a sweetheart somewhere? Someone I don’t know about?” Samantha began.
    Jeannette was surprised. “Of course not, chérie ,” she said. “Why do you ask?”
    Samantha was embarrassed, but she couldn’t stop. “I was just wondering why he doesn’t seem to like me.”
    “Certainly he likes you, Samantha. You are his friend, just as you are mine.”

    “I don’t mean as a friend, Jeannette. Am I so ugly? Why can’t he like me as more than a friend?”
    Jeannette frowned. She couldn’t meet Samantha’s too-revealing eyes. “Why would you want him to?”
    “Why?” Samantha leaned close to whisper. “Can’t you tell I love him? But of course you wouldn’t know. He doesn’t know. What am I going to do, Jeannette?”
    “Ah, chérie , I am sorry. I had no idea you felt this way about my brother.”
    “But what am I to do? I will be leaving in a little less than a month.”
    “Perhaps you should forget him and go home to your papa,” Jeannette said gently.
    “Forget him? Impossible!”
    “It might be for the best, Samantha. You see, Adrien has set a goal for himself.” Jeannette tried to explain. “He has sworn to have nothing to do with women until he has reached his goal.”
    “Which is?”
    “To be rich and respected. Before, his goal was to establish a law practice. Now I suppose it